Repubblica: Italy and France to send Ukraine four SAMP/T NG air defense systems
Italy and France allowed Ukraine to independently launch Aster 30 missiles for SAMP/T air defense systems. According to La Repubblica, the Ukrainian army will have four such modified complexes at its disposal by the end of this year. The total cost of military aid is estimated at about €3 billion. At the same time, Italy did not publicly advertise the shipment of new military cargo to Ukraine. The details are in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
Ukraine will receive a license for the production of French-Italian Aster 30 interceptor missiles for SAMP/T air defense systems, La Repubblica newspaper reports, citing sources.
The parties decided to transfer Kiev to "self-sufficiency," the publication notes.
In addition, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the sale of four SAMP/T NG complexes to Ukraine.
"There will be a sale, financed by EU loans, of four SAMP/T NG batteries — the most modern, whose characteristics are equal to, if not superior to, American Patriot batteries," the material says.
Earlier, Ukraine has already received two SAMP-T batteries from Italy and France. However, there have been insufficient Aster 30 missiles for these systems since last summer due to a reduction in national stocks. To date, European manufacturers have increased production volumes, so that Rome and Paris will be able to resume the supply of ammunition.
Italy plans to transfer Aster 30 missiles from its own military reserves to Ukraine by October. At the same time, France may temporarily send two more Samp-T batteries to Ukraine, removing them from service in order to replace them with new samples later.
According to the publication, along with the batteries, the Ukrainian army will have seven radars at its disposal: six will be produced by the French multinational company Thales and one by the Italian engineering holding Leonardo.
The total cost of military aid is estimated at about €3 billion (approximately 293.1 billion rubles). According to La Repubblica, this package will be financed by the European Union under the Ukraine Support Loan program, created for financial and defense support of Ukraine for 2026-2027.
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| The French-Italian SAMP-T anti-aircraft system. Infographics. |
| Source: Alina Djus/Gazeta.Ru» |
However, Italy does not advertise the shipment of a new military cargo, which is planned to be approved as part of the 13th aid package. In Rome, they publicly announce only the transfer of generators to support the population of Ukraine on the eve of winter. "Instead, the Meloni government secretly decided several weeks ago to provide strong military support," the newspaper added.
"Catastrophically slow"
The SAMP/T NG is currently the only complex "at least partially comparable to the Patriot in terms of its combat capabilities," the Telegram channel "Military Chronicle" reports.
"The Next Generation modification is capable of detecting targets at a distance of more than 350 km and intercepting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at distances of about 100 km. <...> However, it should be said that no matter which system appears on the line of combat or in the rear areas, all of them are already well known to Russian rocket scientists," the publication says.
At the same time, Europe is producing air defense systems "catastrophically slowly" — the Eurosam consortium (manufacturer of SAMP/T) produces literally units of batteries per year, the channel's authors noted. At the same time, the production volumes of the antimissiles themselves (especially the Aster family) are estimated "in the hundreds at best, not in the thousands, as required by the situation."
"In order to completely replace the American supply volumes, the European military-industrial complex will need from 7 to 10 years of total industrial mobilization," the Military Chronicle emphasized.
Ukraine will become the first country to receive "new improved" SAMP/T NG air defense systems, the Main Thing in Ukraine portal added.
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine had received a small number of scarce missiles for Patriot air defense systems, but "more is needed."
"If the US sells us 5%, we will survive the winter." <...> I have 1%," he said in an interview with CNN on August 13.
The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that any vehicles and cargo with Western weapons on the territory of Ukraine are legitimate military targets for Russian troops.
Mikhail Sinev
